Through the Times
by Anya Mikato
Summary: Non-yaoi, I promise. One-shot fic about true friendship. Duo is injured while on a mission. How does this affect Wufei?


Author's Note: This fic isn't your typical yaoi story. I just like Duo and Wufei together, and since I'm not an experience yaoi writer, this focuses a lot on their friendship. Althought it has _slight_ yaoi inclinations, it's just a story between two good friends. Well, read on and I hope you like it!  
  
Through the Times  
by Anya Mikato  
  
"Sometimes in our lives  
We all have pain  
We all have sorrow  
But if we are wise  
We know that there's always tomorrow  
Lean on me, when you're not strong  
And I'll be your friend  
I'll help you carry on  
For it won't be long   
'Till I'm gonna need  
Somebody to lean on."  
  
"Lean On Me" by Bill Withers  
  
The sun was gradually declining, paving the way for the moon and stars. A pair of obsidian eyes stared out into the sunset, trying to mask the concern and worry behind them. A sigh escaped a pair of thin lips as a cool gust of night wind played with a crown of raven hair.  
  
Wufei brushed a strand of hair from his face, and let his hair flutter in the wind for a while before tying it back in its usual ponytail. He glanced at his watch. Seventy-two hours, and Duo had yet to regain consciousness. Wufei turned and looked at the American, lying lifeless and pale on the hospital bed. Closing the door behind him, Wufei exited the balcony and into the room. He walked over to him, and with unmoving eyes studied Duo's body.  
  
His tan chest moved slowly up and down, in a steady rhythm of breath. His torso was wrapped in white bandages, freshly stained with crimson blood that resulted from six broken ribs pressing against his lungs. Wufei's eyes moved up to the young man's face, which was still and motionless, something usually out of character for Duo Maxwell. Covering his mouth was an oxygen mask, helping the ex-Gundam pilot breathe. His eyes were closed in a deep slumber, and a deep gash sat above his left eye. Wufei reached over, and brushed a strand of jagged chestnut brown hair from his face, and examined the cut closer. He noticed a drop of blood seeping from its side. Wufei took a cloth from the side table and carefully wiped the red off from the sleeping boy's face.  
  
He turned his attention back on the sun, which was almost completely gone now, rapidly disappearing behind the Egyptian sand dunes. He wiped sweat from his brow, and leaned against the wall, continuing his silent vigil over his fallen comrade.  
  
He felt compelled to stay with Duo, feeling responsible for the condition he was now in. Wufei closed his eyes and recalled what had happened.  
  
___  
  
Three days earlier.  
  
Lady Une had assigned Wufei and Duo on a mission to infiltrate an Egyptian rebel base. Their contacts in Egypt learned of the rebels, who planned to set an attack on the colonies, and contacted the Preventers immediately. Fortunately, the rebels were a group of amateurs, fueled on revenge, but had limited resources. Nothing the great Duo Maxwell and Wufei Chang couldn't handle.  
  
They arrived at the base, and quickly got to work. They got the job done in less than an hour, but failed to capture a rebel who escaped.  
  
"Death to the Colonies!" the rebel yelled as he unleashed his fury with a machine gun. Wufei took his gun and started to fire at the rebel.  
  
"Watch out!" Duo yelled, as he noticed the balcony above Wufei beginning to crumble due to the previous explosions.  
  
"Hey Chang!! Get the _fuck_ out of there!!!" Duo's warnings were of no use, the gunfire was too loud.  
  
The rebel ran out of ammo, and that's exactly what Wufei needed. He got a clear shot of the man, and shot a bullet right through his arm, all he needed to disarm him. The rebel dropped the gun and hunched over in pain.   
  
The next thing Wufei knew, he was pushed into the clearing, and the balcony above him plummeted down. The Chinese man took a moment to get the breath that was knocked out of him. When he regained his senses, he walked wearily to the pile of rubble, where he saw a slender body half buried in the rocks.  
  
___  
  
Wufei took a deep breath as he opened his eyes. He knew it wasn't entirely his fault, but he felt an obligation to stay alongside his...friend. Wufei scrunched his brow. _Friend._ He never knew he'd be using that word to describe Duo Maxwell. Before, he was always just another Preventer, an acquaintance...never...a _friend._ Nevertheless, Wufei was thankful for the evolution.  
  
___  
  
AC 197  
  
"Wu-chan, you need to loosen up some. Oh, wait, my bad. You need to loosen up _a lot._"  
  
Duo's violet eyes sparkled as he threw a piece of dim sum in his mouth. He gestured with his chop sticks as he continued his one-sided conversation with Wufei. "I mean, you're _hot,_ man. Like, 'if I were a girl, I'd totally jump on you' hot." He took a sip of his soda. "I'm telling you, once you loosen up, you'll be a total babe magnet."   
  
"Like you?"  
  
Duo smiled."Exactly."  
  
Wufei snorted. "No thank-you."   
  
"Trust me, Wu-chan. I'm an expert when it comes to the ladies." He grinned.  
  
Wufei rolled his eyes. It was their first mission as Preventers, and Heero and Sally were out patrolling. The two were stuck in the hotel room, with nothing to do. Surprisingly, Duo convinced Wufei to eat at the lavish Chinese restaurant across the street from the hotel.  
  
"I don't know why I put up with you, Maxwell." Wufei raised his hand to call the waiter for their check.  
  
"Because you loooooove me," Duo teased as he stuffed an egg roll in his mouth. Wufei rolled his eyes once more, a gesture he was accustomed to when around the braided baka. Wufei sighed as he signed the check, secretly grateful Duo took on _Heero_ as 'the best friend.'  
  
___  
  
Wufei smiled inwardly as the memory of that night was replayed in his mind. He glanced outside. The sun was gone now, and stars were slowly starting to fill the sky. He turned his head to Duo, who was showing no signs of waking up any time soon. He pressed his lips as he remembered another event, one that would carve the two men's friendship in stone forever.  
  
___  
  
AC 199  
  
The moon was full and bright, lending its glow to the Earth below. A pair of black eyes were locked onto a figure standing on the edge of the beach. The wind was playing with his waist-long braid, and his eyes were staring up into the heavens. Wufei watched as Duo took something from his neck- the golden cross always hanging from it- and threw it into the ocean. Duo's next motion was surely a surprise- he took a pistol from his pocket and pointed it to his head.  
  
Wufei's eyes widened, and he rushed to the coast. Just as Duo was about to pull the trigger, the Chinese boy lunged at him, sending the both of them to the ground.  
  
"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" Duo yelled, intensity behind his voice. He threw Wufei off of him as the waves crashed over their bodies.  
  
"Stopping you from making the biggest mistake of your life!" he yelled back over the sound of the waves. He got up and took the pistol in his hands. "What were you thinking?"  
  
Duo lunged at him, trying to grab the gun. "Give that to me!"  
  
"No!"  
  
Duo jumped forward, and Wufei took a step back. He tripped over a rock, knocking him off balance, allowing Duo to take the pistol from his hands. As he pointed it towards himself, Wufei clenched his fist and punched Duo in the face. The American staggered backwards as the gun fell from his hands.  
  
"What the fuck are you thinking, Maxwell?" he said, out of breath as he slowly approached the young man. Wufei picked the pistol up from the ground and shoved it in front of Duo's face. "This? You were going to resort to _this?_ That is what cowards do!" Wufei threw the gun onto the floor.  
  
Duo wiped his face, wet with a mixture of tears and saltwater, and looked at Wufei with dead eyes. "You haven't been through what I've been through, Wufei. You don't know." His voice was cold and unfeeling.   
  
"Don't tell me I don't know what you're going through, Maxwell. I watched as my colony, my _home_ , was blown into oblivion. My wife died in my arms. Don't tell me I don't know."  
  
Duo looked down, and took a deep breath. "I...it's just...I can't take it, Wufei. Heero's dead!" He laughed. "Can you believe I'm saying that? Heero Yuy is _dead!_ Killed because he took a bullet for _her_. It wasn't worth it! No one is worth risking..._giving_ your life!" He was becoming hysterical. He collapsed onto the sand, face buried in his hands. "Today at his funeral, I kept telling myself he wasn't dead. That he was just hurt. He was the perfect soldier, Heero never got hurt." He looked up at the moon, tears staining his pure face. "But now...he's gone. He's _really_ gone." He got up, frustrated. "You should have let me do it Wufei!! I don't have anything left! What's the use of living when you have nothing to live for?!"  
  
Wufei drowned in the river of pain Duo's violet eyes displayed. "You just can't give up, Duo. You can't. You have to trust fate, and know that it will take care of you. It will lead you to where you need to be."  
  
"I don't need your lectures right now, Wufei." Duo turned his back to his friend. He shook his head. "I can't go on, Wu-chan. I'm...just not strong enough."  
  
Wufei pressed his lips together. He knew what Duo went through in the past, and he sympathized with him. He saw through Duo's plastic smiles, and knew the American used his smile as a mask to hide his pain. But Wufei knew exactly what he was going through, and understood, because Wufei had _his_ mask as well. The barriers Wufei put up were _his_ way of dealing with pain, and the one person who could understand him enough to see through it...was Duo.  
  
"Well, then..." Wufei whispered as he walked towards Duo. "I will be strong for you."  
  
Duo turned around, surprised. He hadn't expected Wufei to say such a thing. Wufei kept his eyes staring out on the horizon. "You have been there for me," he continued. "I am simply returning the favor." He placed a hand on his shoulder.  
  
Duo swallowed hard, and took a deep breath. He faced Wufei, and smiled genuinely, his violet eyes shining in the moonlight.  
  
___  
  
Wufei's head snapped back, and he opened his eyes, not realizing he had fallen asleep. He yawned, and stretched his body. He took a seat next to the bed and stared at his friend.   
  
At twenty-one, the two lived through more than most people do in an entire lifetime. He looked out the window, and saw that the sun was rising. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer, but it was interrupted as a beeping noise came from the machine hooked up to Duo's body. His heart signs were getting faster, and his breaths were getting deeper. Wufei breathed in- it was both a yawn and a sigh of relief- as he watched Duo's eyes flicker open.  
  
Wufei stayed silent as the violet orbs slowly studied the room. After a moment, the violet stare found obsidian.  
  
Wufei sighed and shook his head. he whispered.  
  
Duo inhaled slowly, wincing as his memory began to return. You're alive, he said, his voice hoarse and dry. So what are you complaining about?  
  
Wufei shook his head again, eyeing Duo's body. Look at you. He looked at his friend in the eye. You didn't have to-  
  
Let's save us both some time and cut the crap. We're both alive, he smiled as a pain shot up his side. Wufei laughed. And...anyway...I was just returning a favor. You saved my life...I saved yours. He closed his eyes. Call it even.  
  
Wufei nodded. He laid a hand gently on Duo's shoulder. Get some rest, you look like hell. Duo laughed, his eyes still closed.  
  
Before Wufei left, he turned around, and glanced at his friend. A small smile crept across his lips as the sun began to slowly take its home in the sky.   
  
  
~OWARI~  
  
Author's Note: Here's my first fic that doesn't include any kind of romance!! Wow, I'm so proud of myself! Well, what did you think? I love Wufei and Duo together. Oh, and sorry to Heero fans, but I had to kill him off in order to push Duo and Wufei closer together. Don't get me wrong, I love Heero, but I just felt I needed to write about the God of Death and the Solitary Dragon. So uh...yeah...that's it. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Any questions? Comments? E-mail me!  
  



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